The Voice of Richard the Paperboy

The Voice of Richard the Paperboy

Richard the Paperboy Blog is written in the first person using the simple, southern dialect of Richard Mason a 12 year old paperboy, who delivered papers between 1944-47 in the small village of Norphlet, Arkansas. The language of ‘Richard’ is in the vernacular and style of the era, and reflects a young, country boy’s rudimentary education and lack of exposure to anything but small town values and customs. I was the town paperboy during that time and the novels I have written in the ‘Paperboy’ series are my attempt to record that life as I remember it, before technology invaded---and took over---our society. The stories in the series are fiction---in part---but they are based on real incidents in my life and the lives of the boys I grew up with. While the incidents in the narrative are sometimes hilarious, the underlying theme of the novels has to do with the personal relationships the boys develop in their simple adventures. Those interactions with the citizens of Norphlet are the strength of the writing.
The publisher of the first of the series, August House, marketed the book for a middle reader (9-12 years of age) but reviewers and readers have uniformly called it a story for all ages. I couldn’t agree more.
The debut novel, The Red Scarf, is a Christmas story which ends on Christmas Eve. On that Christmas Eve the two boys are sitting around the fireplace in a poor, old black man’s decrepit cabin sharing hot chocolate with him while they sing carols. The surprise ending is a touching affirmation of the values of two very imperfect boys.

The second of the series is the sequel Lyin’ Like a Dog, published last fall
The third, which has just been published is, The Yankee Doctor.
The fourth, The Danged Swamp will be published this spring.
The fifth, The Mystery of the Canebrake will be published this fall.
The Sixth, Half Uncle Snort, The River Rat will be published next year.